Economics of Environmental Conservation: Economics for Environmental and Ecological Management(v.1 Developments in Environmental Economics)

The study of the relationship between economic systems and ecological and environmental ones is an important one which affects all living organisms and is becoming increasingly recognized in policy circles worldwide. The more this relationship between economics and ecology is studied, the more aware we become that a great deal of our existing knowledge is imperfect and gaps need to be filled. This book specifies economic means for improved management of biological resources with their respective life-support systems, and takes into account environmental issues. Special attention is given to the consequences of economic growth and development on resource conservation and policies such as those arising from the World Conservation Strategy and the Brundtland Report. The coverage in this volume is both innovative, modern and in a semantical sense, non-techncial, based on the interdependence between economic, social and ecological systems.

Table of Contents:
Preface. List of Tables. List of Figures. 1. Economics and the Living Environment. Introduction. Welfare economics, environment and the Biosphere. Ethics, values and environmental economics: alternative views. Economic growth, dynamics, uncertainty and the environment: differing views. Environmental quality and resource availability trends: broad estimates and projections. Conclusion. 2. Strategies for World Conservation: an Economic Assessment. Introduction. A classification of conservation policies. The World Conservation Strategy: its origins, aims and basic principles. Ecological processes and life-support systems: agriculture, forests, coastal and freshwater systems. Preservation of genetic diversity. Sustainable utilisation of species and ecosystems. International conservation concerns and priorities. Organisational and social aspects of conservation. Concluding comments. 3. Government Intervention in Environmental Conservation: Rationale and Methods. Introduction. Externalities or spillovers. Government policies 'to correct' for externalities. Public or collective good characteristics associated with the conservation of nature. Option demands, transaction costs, more on existence values, bequest, irreversibility and uncertainty. Discount rates as grounds for government intervention. Monopolies and conservation. Common property and intervention. Failure of political and administrative mechanisms in relation to conservation. Concluding comment. 4. Environmental Conservation in Developing Countries. Introduction. Basic conservation problems in the Third World: origin. Population growth and income aspirations. Expansion of the market system. New technology. Problems illustrated by some cases. High effective rates of discount. Difficulties in enforcing conservation measures and questions of social structure. Policies for influencing and improving conservation practices in the Third World. Provision of information and education. Appropriating greater gains nationally from conservation. Tourism as a means of appropriating gains from conservation. Improving distribution of gains from conservation within LDCs. International aid and assistance, loans and trade. Global public good/externality considerations. 5. Preservation of Wildlife and Genetic Diversity. Introduction. Managing wildlife as a mixed good: simple analytics. Some economic consequences of interdependence between species. Criteria for deciding on species to save from extinction. Concluding comments. 6. Common Property and Natural Resource Management. Types of property and general consequences. Common access: economic failures and their consequences. Policies for managing common-access resources. Ranching and farming as means to overcome common-access problems and conserve species. Concluding comment. 7. Economics of Conserving Natural Areas: National Parks and Protected Areas. Introduction: nature and availability of natural areas. Benefits and uses of natural protected areas.